Wargame Design Magazine

​THE FORUM OF NAPOLEONIC SIMULATIONThe way to study the past is not to confine oneself to mere knowledge of history but, through application of this knowledge, to give actuality to the past. -Richard Wilhelm

Wargame Design is a forum for the development of new ideas - to further our journey toward new horizons for our hobby. We encourage you to participate in making game design once again a serious study.

Topics Covered in Wargame DesignDesign Projects: Articles by the design team of upcoming OSG games.Scenarios & Variants: Modifications of existing OSG games.Questions & Answers: Clarifications, often with design rational, and optional rules.Design Theory: What makes a simulation successful? Can you have a successful simulation that is not a good game?Basics of Wargame Design: Design begins with setting the correct time/space parameters, and our in-depth coverage will take you along for the ride.Researching: The most important topics: 1) strengths and weaknesses of the armies, and 2) environment and geography.Research Reports: Articles on three areas in research: 1) Games under development; 2) Work in archives in Europe and the U.S.; 3) Tours to visually inspect battle sites.

500 pages of Articles available for Free Download

Fully indexed by topic and by issue (see below)

..if I were to applaud any designers today, there would be just two of the many worthy, that to me offer all the goods, innovation, intelligence, confidence, dedication, passion, humility, benevolence, and humor. They would be: Volko Ruhnke - who takes the concept of the CDG to a whole new level. Kevin Zucker - who inspires me with his commitment to history and playability in Napoleonics. His magazine Wargame Design, that I've only recently started reading, is the closest thing to The General's excitement level that I've seen in decades. Truly passionate; almost - community - in feel.

WARGAME DESIGN VOL. III Nr. 3, 32 page issue...

A BATTLEFIELD OF YOUR OWN CHOOSING

Discussion by Moeller on his derailment at Vauchamps. The video of the session is also highly rated.

THE "1R" RESULT This Consimworld Conversation may be arcane to those who haven't played the game some. But there are some good things, including a description of the troops in Marmont's VI Corps.

A FINE BALANCE between playability and that other thing.BAGGAGES HO! Am I the only one interested in this?VEDETTE ENCOUNTERS Finally, some source material instead of just going on smatterings. Based on de Brack, "Cavalry Outpost Duties." De Brack mentions that at 2,000 meters men and horses are mere points, but at 700 m, men's heads are disinctly seen. There is even a diagram from the original Austrian Service Manual, showing how the vedettes should form a chain in front of the main body.OPERATIONAL ART is one of the main articles, explains how operations were done at this scale and talks about the C3 Loop. Lots of quotes from Napoleon. Stages of the Strategical Battle.THIN RED LINE discusses a common myth. David Chandler on Ligny. Strongpoints on the Napoleonic Battlefield. Contrasting the Prussian tactics at Ligny with those at Jena.